


Different Streams

by Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 01:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron/pseuds/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron
Summary: Alternative to my other story Sunken Destiny. Merman Merlin, instead of being enamoured by Arthur takes a young druid under his wing. (Merdred)Changing some of the chapters since I'm not happy with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully it'll all be rewritten and back up soon. sorry for those who are looking for my previous work, I had to delete it since the chapters were glitching when I tried to update

There was nothing better than a day in the sun. It made the water warmer, the grass grow and the animals around it swarm for a cool place to sleep their exhaustion away.

It also brought a certain man to Merlin's lake.

He heard a shriek, high and very unmanly in its execution. Merlin heard the girls below him laughing, bubbles frothing up as Merlin sent another knock to the wood at his side. He bowed for his audience as another unmanly squeak came from above, only to dart to the side when something dashed down next to his face. It came again, the oar from the boat above following the shadow Merlin made in the water around and around until Merlin saw the man above fall over his own feet and appear before him. They came face to face, Merlin marvelling at having the man so close. Usually he saw him from afar, that head of blonde hair drawing his eye the moment Merlin spotted it through the trees. Up close it looked like tendrils of gold, like a stream of necklaces drifting in a breeze.

The man was startled, first from the fall, and then again as his eyes made out Merlin in front of him. His eyes were comically wide, mouth bloated as he tried to hold in the air above. It made Merlin smile, his hands coming up to grasp those bloated cheeks and plant a kiss on the man's mouth.

The reaction sent Merlin sniggering over to the girls, the man flailing and scrambling as he pushed Merlin off and grabbed around for air and his boat. The man made it back in with nothing else hindering him. Nothing pulling him down or biting his supple flesh. The man knew he was lucky to have gotten back to his boat in one piece, the curses he sent to the waters below mild in comparison to some Merlin had heard. He was grateful, but didn't want to show it. A thing that had Merlin fascinated, elated and darting to the reeds so he could see the man, Prince Arthur himself, shout at no one in the water.

Such a funny human.

He wondered why the prince even came on to the water. It wasn't like there wasn't another way around the water. Sure, it took longer, but the trees surrounding the lake were safer than the creatures that lurked beneath the murky waves.

Most people avoided it, Merlin even knew of a knight someone from a nearby kingdom had placed somewhere within the trees. He warded off those who thought it a good idea of crossing with tales of monsters, men and woman alike, they weren't too picky, would fall to their teeth should they ignore the knight's warning.

Someone like Prince Arthur would surely have heard about the monsters. If he thought they were just tales he would have known after his first visit that they were anything but. Yet, time and again he came to the lake, still crossing, still refusing the other path, and it made Merlin more and more curious each time he did.

'Do you think he's stupid?' he asked his mother that night. 'He looks it. Maybe he's the lame prince of Camelot.'

'Does it matter?' his mother wasn't one for listening to tales of Merlin's prince. She had warned him the first time he let the man go that it would do nothing but hurt him in the end. Whether that be Arthur luring Merlin into a trap, which had actually happened to one of the girls in their lake, they took a fancy to this guy, let him go, watched him every time he came back and the guy grew smart to it. Decided he wanted to make an example of her kind when they ended up killing someone from his village. He used her affection for him to lure her into a net, skewering her in front of the other merfolk on the shore while asking how they liked being the victims. Merlin knew his mother didn't want that happening to him, she was rather kind hearted like that, a trait that wasn't often found in their kind.

'Yes, it does. I mean, if he's stupid then I get why he keeps coming back. He probably doesn't even remember crossing the next time he decides to go out. But what if it's something else? More and more people have been trying their luck of late. Maybe it's a sign.'

'Maybe.' She swam off, her patience for Merlin's wonderings gone.

He pushed all thoughts to Arthur to the side for now, having better things to do like sunbathe and hunt to ponder about why he came. For all of three days. He was digging a gold necklace that had got caught in his scales when a shadow made it hard to see. Long and thick, there was only one thing he knew that made that shadow.

Fins darted past him as he left the necklace alone. The girls had already started circling, the smell of fresh meat high in their noses. He joined them, scenting the occupants himself to make sure it wasn't his idiotic prince back for another jaunt about the water.

No, the people above were unfamiliar, which made them fair game. The girls floated along quietly, Merlin tagging along the back as the girl who got there first made a plan.

She took the front of the boat, slowing its passage and making sure there was nothing within reach to help the man to shallow waters. The oars were the next to go, each one digging in harder to try and get the wood to move under the girls strength. They drifted slowly to the bottom of the lake, Merlin knowing that someone would get them, along with the boat, when they were finished eating and put it back at the edge of the lake for their next victim.

The man above was trapped now, with nothing but the deep awaiting him. Or so they thought. The girl had went up, not bothering with niceties in favour of dragging him neck first to her teeth. Yet no sooner had she surfaced was she cast back down, the crackle of magic heavy in the air.

The boat moved on its own, not needing oars and certainly paying no mind to the other mermaid who was trying to stop it. A unanimous decision was made as the next girl was sent down as well, all of them turning to Merlin with expectant scowls. Ever since he was small if it had magic it was Merlin's problem, something he was always pouting about to his mother. Just because they were dangerous and he had magic himself that didn't mean he had to be the one to deal with it. It just wasn't fair.

Still, with barely a blink Merlin had the boat stopping again, clambering up the side to face his would be sorcerer. There were gasps- there were always gasps when people saw him- and an underlying thrum of magic as the man prepared another assault.

'Don't bother,' Merlin warned, making sure his eyes flashed dangerously.

It had its intended effect, the man cowering away from him and crowding, arms stretched, towards the back. He didn't look too scared however, not in the way they usually were. Even with magic they often ended up begging for their life after a while. Yet this man looked like he had already accepted his death, was embracing it with open arms, it was only- damn- the life he was protecting behind him that had him fighting.

It was a boy, no more than eleven in age and standing unafraid, almost curious, behind the man's arms. Now, Merlin knew his kind was heartless, he often didn't care if women said they had children waiting at home or waiting for them on the other side. More often than not he would make kinds to get them next before dragging whoever it was to the deep. But that was all talk. When a child did come to their lake, they often had a change of heart. Especially when they were, more often than not, more useful to lure people than dead.

The man was lucky, that was all Merlin would say later when his mother asked what happened to the people crossing.

The girls had already fetched the oars, one of them peeking up behind the man to see why Merlin hadn't made the kill. They put them in the boat, sinking back down and letting Merlin take over.

The man looked like he couldn't believe his luck. He kept his hands over the boy, shielding him the whole time Merlin dragged the boat over to the shallows. When it hit gravel and Merlin went back to the water he heard a few passing words about the gods being favourable today before leaving all thoughts of the boy and man behind in favour of luring a hunting falcon that had been circling their waters for an hour now. A hunting falcon almost always had an owner, which meant easy meat.

The weeks passed after that with Arthur returning to the lake a few times. He rowed too and fro, subjecting himself to Merlin's teasing again and again for some purpose or another. Merlin was almost curious enough, as he came a third time that month, to go up and ask Arthur what was so important it couldn't wait ten extra minutes. He'd heard rumours, whispers and seen for himself some of the carnage that was left in the larger waters. Something hostile was on their lands, more, it knew what they were and how to capture them- something that wasn't an easy feat if they weren't a lovesick mermaid.

But he stopped himself on the basis that it was one thing annoying Arthur and a whole other to show himself to the prince. So he kept himself to the waters, contenting himself with taking oars and upsetting the boat.

He thought Arthur had come again when someone told him to take care of the boat. It was rowing rather fast, much different to the strong sure, steady strokes Arthur used. There was that crackle of magic there too, helping the boat move more freely in the water. It was no wonder the girls had sent him up.

Oh.

He stopped halfway up, recognising the wide blue eyes that looked down, almost directly at him. It was the boy, the same one Merlin had helped to the other side a few weeks ago.

He darted to the reeds to make sure, seeing the same blue cloak and dark hair that made up the curious unafraid human. There was something different about him, that had nothing to do with his new guardian. A sickness seemed to be hanging over him, almost gone now but still lingering around the boy.

The man travelling with the boy now pulled him back from the edge, murmuring warnings that carried over to Merlin's ears. 'Stop looking. You'll attract attention and these things will kill you boy.'

The man could have been talking to a wall for all the good it did. The boy, Mordred, as a few more muttered words made its way over, seemed to be looking for something, or just fascinated with the lake he was rowing across. He pulled back from his guardians hands every chance he got, leaning over the side or scouring the reeds, looking straight at Merlin every time he found him.

It became a sort of game, Merlin testing the boys perception more than anything. He dove and hid as many times as he could but Mordred always seemed to know where he was. It was fascinating. He'd never met a human with such awareness before, it made him wonder how he did it, what it was that told the boy where to look.

Nevertheless, it had Merlin impressed. So much so that he sent some of his own magic the boy's way, pushing away that last lingering of sickness. Mordred looked like he'd had a religious experience, stuck still in his seat so much that the man guarding him had to visibly lift him up to carry him off to the woods.

He gave a half hearted wave to Mordred, hoping this was the last time they would meet. He doubted the girls would be so forgiving if he started bringing more off limits meals to their lake, and had no want to see the day come where they would forgo their no children rule and have him for supper.

The days turned to nights, and before long Merlin was seeing Arthur creeping around the shallows again. It was one of the last summer days of the year, Merlin deciding to spend it on a grassy bank just shy of the treeline. He watched as today, Arthur ignored the boat in front of him, seeming to find what he was looking for and going back into the trees.

A rustle sounded a few metres away, Merlin rolling his eyes at the lack of tact Arthur had. Of course he wasn't here to cross today. Why would he when the sun was out and there were half human women with no shame and no clothes on their chests. The girls a few feet from him sent him withering looks, saying without speaking that they knew Arthur was there too, and they weren't impressed.

Turning on to his front Merlin ignored the heated looks and set about finding Arthur's feet in the bushes. He started when he saw just how close he was, his theory about the prince being stupid growing more believable every second he lay there. If that wasn't bad enough he had someone with him, a female someone from the smell of it. She at least, had some stealth, making no noise on the forest floor as she knelt next to her prince.

'Told you,' Arthur said, a smug note in his tone.

'That's incredible.' Her voice didn't rise higher than a whisper, there, again showing stealth where her companion did not. 'Uther will be furious.'

'Indeed.' There was a rustling, something being pulled from a sack and the sound of pages turning.

'Tell me you didn't steal that from Gaius.' The silence said it all. The pages stopped, Arthur huffing a laugh that ended on a rather defeated note. 'Bad news?'

'Extremely. They're mermaids.'

'Maids? Don't know about your eyes but that one doesn't look very female to me.' Merlin hid a smile at the appreciative note in the girls voice. He may have even flicked his tail a few times for her pleasure, he knew how pretty it was to look at after all.

'Well- folk then. And apparently they're very deadly. Not only are they strong, fast and charming, but they have singing voices that can enthral anyone that listens to them. They also eat people.'

'Lovely.' A pause, 'Does it say how to kill them in there?'

'No.'

'Uther's not going to be happy.'

'No doubt. He'll probably have me leading knights down here tomorrow to kill the beasts.'

Merlin considered splashing Arthur for the beast comment, but this information was the most he'd heard from this prince. It was interesting to note they hadn't known what it was hiding in the lake. Definitely explained why there wasn't mob after angry mob trying to fire arrows into them. Very interesting that someone had managed to see them anyway, and document them. It also told him that this Arthur wasn't as stupid as he looked.

'What are you going to do?' the girl asked.

Silence. 'Nothing. We don't tell father. If these creatures really are as dangerous as this book says we don't want their ire. It says they can take down a boat full of people in seconds, imagine what they can do to a kingdom. All they'd have to do was get into the waters. The ones that flow all through Camelot, and we'd be done for.'

There was a thought.

'I won't tell. Nor will I tell about the other reason you want to keep Uther from finding out about them.' The seriousness was gone, teasing taking its place. Whoever she was she was close to Arthur, which kind of had Merlin wondering about her. She could probably tell him tonnes of stories about Arthur. What he was like when he got back to his princely things, what he liked to eat, drink, listen to...

'Which is?'

'Hmmm, topless girls and pretty boys. I wonder why you-'

The leaves rustled, Arthur blowing his cover completely in favour of messing around with his companion. 'I'll have you know I'd never even seen one before today. They've never sunbathed before now. So shut up.'

For that last comment Merlin decided to have some fun with Arthur the next time he came to the lake. He was honestly hurt that Arthur lied to his lady friend. He'd gotten more than a good look at his kind, and more than once too. Merlin had even kissed him. So, the next time he saw that blonde head he perched himself on the side, laughing lightly at the shocked fright on Arthur's face. 'I know we're not exactly memorable. But hopefully you'll ingrain my face this time into your memory your highness.' He had him by the lips before the prince could even utter a word, enjoying the easy way Arthur gave in, and even more when he dragged the man underwater. They stayed there, Arthur struggling in his tight grasp, until all the air had left his lungs. Making sure he hadn't killed the prince, Merlin left him on the shore.

He didn't return for a month.

Instead, when the boat came over his head it was another familiar face peeking down. Mordred.

His hopes to never see the boy again went unheeded by whoever was listening. Mordred was back again, and, like last time, had seemed to abandon his carer in favour of another. Three in fact, with more circling the edge of the lake. Merlin saw a few of his comrades drag down those that veered too close to the edge, which begged the question of why these three thought it a good idea to go on the lake when the other option was far safer.

He went over for his own share, his kindness to the boy extending again to this passage. When he was done, the boat was still there, stopped in fact, right in the centre of the lake.

Mordred was looking over at him, no revulsion or fear on his face. Instead he smiled, actually smiled at Merlin despite the fact he still had human on his face.

The others in the boat were less than pleased to see Merlin, especially when he swam over and pulled himself up the side. They looked about to fall off the side with how they were trying to get away from him. Mordred on the other hand had no qualms about lifting his fingers and pushing them through Merlin's hair. He looked like he couldn't believe Merlin was there. Even his magic was happy, bouncing gently against Merlin's like feet dipping in a wave.

'You should probably leave,' Merlin warned. 'I don't know how many more times we're going to let you cross here.'

The others nodded, already knowing the fate that awaited them. Mordred strayed their hands however, when they reached for the oars, glaring back at them like he was the adult and they the children, before turning to Merlin again. He poked his head to look down the side of the boat, his hands venturing from Merlin's hair to his skin and finally his scales.

He let Mordred look his fill before retreating back down. Almost as soon as he did the boat started moving again, the adults probably winning whatever power struggle had been going on. Not that it stopped them from coming back. Merlin had half a mind to kill the boy himself if he was so stupid to think he would get away with this forever.

Yet there was something different about this visit. There was a smell in the air, more humans coming down. As Merlin listened he could hear the adults on the boat panicking amidst victory cries. But more than that he could hear Mordred himself, plain as day like he was right next to Merlin and not a whole ten feet. It took a moment for Merlin to realise that it was coming from inside his head. Another sharp _'Emrys!'_ sounding before the other humans made themselves known.

They crashed through the trees with crossbows and swords flashing silver in the sun. Knights. Whoever Mordred was with they were no friend to this kingdom, the knights opening fire and hitting one of the men in the boat, sending him over and into the waiting teeth of the girls below.

Merlin remembered what Arthur had said about the knights not knowing what was in the lake, wondering if the boy above was worth exposing them just to get him out of the firing range.

 _'Emrys!'_ came again, Mordred sounding desperate above. Merlin supposed he too would be begging if he was in that situation. No one wanted to die. Not really.

It took little time to swim up and under the boat, the girls lying in wait below it for Merlin to make the grab so they could get the meat. Mordred was easy to pluck out, Merlin making sure the boat tipped enough to look like he fell. He warned the girls as he swam away not to make it too obvious what they were. He had to give Arthur some credit for the idea of keeping themselves a secret. It would certainly make hunting all the more easier.

The men were disposed and boat swaying empty as Merlin broke to the surface in his hiding spot. Mordred was spluttering, clawing desperately for the bank and air, Merlin letting him get a handhold and nothing more. the knights were still at the edge of the forest, scratching their heads and wondering just what the hell they'd seen.

It took a while for them to leave. They seemed to be living in a distant hope that the people had merely fell and would surface any minute. Yet the hours passed and no sign came. Eventually the knights called it a day, Merlin hearing them ask what they were going to tell the king when they got back as he turned to his little problem still clutching at his arms.

Mordred had stopped struggling for a while now, content to sit calmly in the circle of Merlin's arms. He even dozed off for a while, Merlin smothering the urge to drown the little troublemaker when a thought on how cute he looked passed through his mind.

With the knights gone, Merlin helped the boy back onto the bank, telling him to wait there and even getting him some guards, while he went to go search for someone to take him.

The answer came on the fourth stream he searched, a small band of men were huddled by a fire, many of them harbouring the same three pronged tattoo the man he'd first seen Mordred with bore. Better, they had stories very much like the one Mordred had just escaped from. Stories of knights and close misses that had Merlin leaning closer to hear clearly. It got better still when one of them unwrapped something from his cloak, something Merlin recognized from both memory and magic. It called to him, telling him to grab it. It was strong enough to have him crawling halfway out before he realised he couldn't exactly just walk in and get it.

But then, well, Mordred came to mind, and a devious plan with it.

He got back to the lake in record time, Mordred happy to see him again up until Merlin told him he'd found his humans. The boy didn't speak, but then he didn't really have to with that glare on his face.

'Don't be like that. You belong with humans, we'd probably eat you after a few days if you stayed here,' Merlin reasoned. Mordred pouted even more, Merlin thinking this was just the right time to put his plan into action. 'Okay, how about a compromise? I promise, no, we promise, that you can come to our lake at any time you like, day or night, no matter how old you get, and no one will hurt you. Sound good?' That piqued his interest, Mordred smiling a little to himself with the idea. 'But, there's a condition, you have to get something for me.'

That something had Mordred complying all the way back to the human camp. He didn't run off, throw a tantrum or even try to negotiate with something else. Merlin thought this was the start to a wonderful friendship. If he didn't know any better he'd say Mordred was actually wanting to do something nice for Merlin, that want holding strong even after he learned what it was that Merlin wanted.

'That.' Merlin pointed, the crystal shining slightly between the rags. 'Bring me that.'

Mordred glared at it slightly, but nodded anyway, hopping out onto the bank and wringing his cloak out. _'Where should I bring it?'_

Merlin thought about that. He couldn't have the boy bring it to the lake, he didn't want to risk the boy being seen either by the knight or being followed by one of the adults and killed just as Merlin had promised him immunity. He remembered this other little place, somewhere his mother had shown him when he was a child. It was a pool, somewhere she had met his father at. 'There's a place not far from here. There are giant statues and a gap between them. They lead to a pool where I'll meet you. Don't be too long.'

Mordred nodded, tottering off back to the adults like a wounded child and leaving Merlin in slight awe at his acting skills. Not wasting time, Merlin dived, swimming easily to the pool he'd said and waited.

He didn't worry about Mordred as the hours went on. The boy was powerful, that much was known more than just the touch of his magic. Despite the fact it thrummed like nothing Merlin had ever felt there was also the way the others had treated the boy. The first time had been like he was to be protected, and, looking back, Merlin was beginning to wonder if that was at all familiar affection or something else. If he was powerful the man would have probably been charged with protecting him. An interesting thought. Then there was the other man on the way back. Despite his attempts Mordred had ignored him in favour of looking over the side. Surely, much like the humans he'd just disposed of, if Mordred had just been a simple errant child they could have easily put him in his place? Yet, they didn't. They let him do what he liked, to a point.

Maybe it wasn't just luck that had Merlin sparing Mordred.

He came just before nightfall, the small brush of magic touching Merlin's own the only notice he got before two little feet were dipping in the pool. He handed the crystal over when Merlin prompted, looking glad to be rid of it.

 _'They say I'm meant to master it.'_ he said after a while.

'They?'

_'Alvarr. The man in the boat. He wished for me to use it to unseat Uther.'_

Uther. Arthur's companion had mentioned an Uther, and since Mordred said unseat he guessed the man was Arthur's father. it was an odd thought thinking Arthur had a father. Merlin's kind didn't often put family to meat.

'I doubt you could have done that with this.'

_'You know what it is?'_

Merlin nodded, remembering something similar his mother used to own. 'It's a seeing stone. They tell the future, well a possible future.' Mordred's interest grew, the boy inching closer to the crystal like he could activate it if he looked hard enough. 'You won't see anything. It only shows you when it wants to, and only ever your own future. Unless you were meant to unseat Uther at some point in your life this crystal is basically useless.'

'So it isn't a weapon?'

Merlin shook his head, wondering what was going on in Mordred's head. Was he happy about it being useless? Upset that he risked his life for something so trivial? Merlin didn't know, he couldn't tell through the blank line and wide blue eyes and it was driving him insane. If there was one thing his kind prided itself on it was reading people, how else were they to lure prey if they couldn't.

Needing some time to think Merlin sent Mordred off with warnings of the others getting suspicious if he wasn't there when the crystal went missing. He expected a fight, from the reluctance Mordred had already shown it wouldn't be that far a stretch. But something obviously clicked in his mind since he was getting up and leaving once he made sure he could go visit Merlin whenever he wanted.

'Of course, I promised you didn't I?' Merlin grinned. 'Besides, that Emrys you were calling for will probably want to see you again.'

He chose to ignore the confused frown on Mordred's face, his head already battered enough with trying to read this kid. Hopefully the next time they saw each other would be less confusing.


	2. Chapter 2

He gifted his mother with the crystal when he got home. The last one they had she fashioned into a mirror, the thing staying in their makeshift home until Merlin was 65. His powers had just bloomed a few decades before, his mother trying to teach him to be careful, but when a young merman whose never even heard of another of his kind having magic it was hard to do so. He remembered they had a fight, Merlin storming off with a huff, and his magic echoing it through the water powerful enough to crack it.

This time, his mother made sure Merlin knew the rules. No magic near the mirror. No tantrums near the mirror. No touching, no Merlin anywhere around it basically, which, considering he was the one who had got the crystal in the first place, Merlin thought was a tad unfair.

Especially when he was floating somewhat near it one day and saw something glimmer in the smooth stone. He called his mother, but by the time she appeared the images had gone.

'Anything important?' she asked, curious eyes on Merlin. They all knew that the stone showed personal futures. She was probably concerned that Merlin was going to destroy the lake or something. Merlin could at least reassure her that scenario wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

'Just weird images about Arthur.' His mother sighed, the topic of Arthur having her warning him not to touch before swimming off to somewhere else.

Still, they were weird images. Some of them were in a forest, much like the ones surrounding their lake. In others he was in a corridor. All of them had Arthur in them, and all of them had Merlin next to him, human. He looked weird as a human. His legs were all long, towering over Arthur. He looked to his tail, wondering how legs would feel in its place. He couldn't imagine it, so didn't try, discarding the images as quickly as they came in favour of doing something else with his day.

Arthur came the next day, his female companion with him once again. The two of them perched themselves in the bushes, Arthur having the brains enough to keep his friend off the lake. Merlin lay himself close again on the pretence of sunbathing, some of the girls joining him when their human spectators did nothing more than sit there.

Arthur had another book with him, some charcoals too which had Merlin posing as subtly as he could when he figured out what this visit was about.

'You're drawing his tail wrong,' The girl commented.

'I doubt it matters,' Arthur said, despite two seconds later the sounds of paper being shuffled over was heard. 'Make sure you get that one down. He's dangerous.'

'No?' the girl scoffed. 'Something that eats people is dangerous.'

'Alright,' Arthur cut in. 'But seriously, the book said maids, and that thing isn't one. If we have any chance of keeping them contained we need more information about them, starting with correcting Gaius' book.'

'What did it do to you anyway? I mean, it didn't eat you, which it probably should have. So...?'

'So nothing. Just get it down.'

There was nothing for a while but the scraping of charcoal on parchment. Merlin thought over what they had said. They were going to try and contain them in the lake. Either Arthur had managed to persuade his father to think carefully about the carnage with the rebels or he didn't know. Merlin was willing to bet the latter. Especially since Arthur and his friend were here unaccompanied, again. If the kind did know his son was so close to man eating creatures Merlin had no doubt there would be half an army ready to try and take them down.

'How much longer do you think Gaius will keep his silence?' the girl asked, the charcoal stopping and parchment being moved around again. 'You know he will only obey for so long. He's too concerned about your safety to keep this to himself.'

'Gaius will keep quiet so long as I ask Morgana. He may be concerned but he is loyal too. Besides, from the way he spoke apparently one of the merfolk have taken a liking to me. So long as that interest holds my safety should be secured whenever I venture down here.'

The bushes snapped as their leaves were parted, Merlin seeing Arthur poking his head through. He could also see his companion. Merlin knew beauty when he saw it, he was surrounded by beautiful girls everyday, which was why he could admit Arthur's companion was one of the most awe striking girls he'd ever seen. It wasn't just her looks that held the eye. She had a sort of essence, reminding him of Mordred, that had Merlin entranced.

'Which one do you think it is?' the girl asked, Merlin taking note of more things now he had a face to put to voice. It was polished, she was polished despite the hood that hid her face. A noble woman then, since the only other human girls he'd seen had been a far sight from this woman's look.

Arthur was either related to her or plain stupid, since he treated her like she was a minor annoyance. She couldn't see the rolled eyes but Merlin could, as he saw the pointed look sent his way afterwards as well. 'No idea.'

Merlin offered a smile their way, pointedly waving to show they weren't as secretive as they thought and retreated back to the waters, tired of putting up with Arthur for the day.

He saw Arthur every other week or so, the prince seeming to have nothing else to do with his life. He'd sit in the bushes, or on the shore, with a book on his lap and a quill in his hand. He was studying them, making notes about them. How unfortunate that Merlin was making sure that information was as limited as possible. Since Arthur had refused to go out onto the lake since Merlin's little trick the only time he saw them was when the weather was hot enough to let them lie on the banks. These days, so close to winter, that was few and far between, and when they did go onto the banks Merlin made sure they did nothing more than laze about, his mother, when he told her about the Prince's plans, was more than on board on getting the others to listen and cooperate with this plan. She didn't want them to be studied anymore than Merlin did, fearing what might happen if the prince were to stumble on some weakness or another he could exploit.

When winter finally did come it wasn't just Merlin's instructions that had everyone keeping to the lake. The harsh winds and lowering temperatures had them forced to stay underwater, ice making a thick prison for them to stay under.

As it usually happened when winter came the people from the villages and surrounding kingdoms thought whatever danger lay beneath had been vanquished by the cold. They came in streams of twos and threes, making camp near the shores and skating day and night on the frozen lake.

Merlin would have thought it an insult, had he not found a way through the ice years ago.

He knew he couldn't attack them like he usually did. First off, because this year he knew for a fact people didn't know what it was that lived in the lake. Secondly, because there were too many people and too many scenarios where a hunt could go wrong. So winter had to make him smart, sneaky, and overall fast or he wouldn't eat at all.

His usual prey on winter nights were lovers who would come down for a midnight skate. There was never more than six people on the lake at once, more often than not staying there for an hour before retreating to the bushes. It was the bushes were Merlin got them.

He used his magic to break through the ice, picking a spot he wouldn't be easily overheard by the others in, and using his voice to call those who had retreated to the bushes to him. They came like moths to a flame, their eyes glazed, limbs slack and delightfully devoid of clothing which made eating them all the more easily.

He'd managed to take down three couples when something exciting happened. He was lounging amongst the reeds, head back and stomach full from that last girl. He was watching the clouds, the greys and whites intercepting each other, and casting his gaze around in merry satisfaction when he saw a hint of red in the trees.

He thought it a bird, at first. They often got colourful and interesting birds nesting in the trees, but it wasn't the season for them, and, as he watched, they were moving too solidly to be the fluttering jerks of a bird. It was only when a trumpet sounded, the red giving way to silver and steel did Merlin realise where he'd seen that colour before. The last had been when Mordred had came to the lake, the boy being chased by knights from Arthur's kingdom.

It wasn't just a few this time. Nor were they on foot. These ones were on top of horses, a marvellous sight, and leading at least twenty or thirty men in the same clothes behind them. What was better Merlin recognised one of the knights, that blonde head of hair last seen a good three weeks before, just after the first snow fall.

Merlin went to find his mother, knowing she needed to be informed about this latest turn of events. Needless to say she wasn't pleased, gathering the merfolk as soon as she could so news of the prince and his brigade was known. She feared they had come to get rid of them, sending a pointed look at Merlin when she asked whether any of them had been hunting the past few days. He shot her a sheepish grin, intending to apologise later when the first resounding boom sounded from above.

Merlin darted off, popping up beside his reeds to find the knights had made a makeshift camp along the shore. The bang had been someone distinctly not a knight, and carrying what looked like a lute. Intrigued, Merlin watched some more as the girl Arthur had sometimes came down with made an appearance with an older man, one who had Arthur's chin, the two of them sitting on a pavilion someone had erected.

He went back to his mother with news of leisure. They weren't being hunted, it seemed. Instead, the prince had decided the lake was a pleasant place to set up roots for winter. Merlin recalled some of the people who visited mentioning a holiday of sorts. Yule or some such. He supposed it was oddly romantic to spend it at a lakeside, his mother agreeing but looking no less tense as she put everyone on a hunger strike until Arthur and his men left.

The first day the brigade were there they had a feast by the lakeshore, with music and some kind of flailing keeping everyone entertained. The second, the knights had broke off into two sections, half of them keeping watch on the three important members of the court, while the second went skating like the rest of the kingdom.

Arthur looked like a fool skating on the ice. He looked to be trying to enjoy himself, but more often than not he was reaching for the shores, like just being on the water brought back bad memories. It was nice to know Merlin had made an impression on the prince. If it had been warmer he might have chanced his luck by messing with him a bit. But it was winter and he had a cover to maintain so Merlin contented himself with merely watching.

On the seventh day another man came to the lake. He was old, looking like one of the villagers from than the court. Yet Arthur seemed to know him, as did the girl, the two of them breaking off from the other man to greet this new visitor.

They took him to the side, eerily close to Merlin's hiding place.

'-safe my lord?' the old man asked.

'No,' Arthur said. 'But they haven't been seen since the ice overcame the lake.'

'They could be dead,' the girl said, not sounding very optimistic as she did.

The old man shook his head, 'Creatures such as this can last through extreme temperatures. No, they're hiding. What I don't understand is why you're not taking advantage of this Arthur. They're probably trapped under there, and with the other streams leading into this also frozen I would have thought this the best opportunity to rid the kingdom of them.'

'Yes, I suppose it is,' Arthur agreed. If Merlin didn't know any better he would have thought Arthur was searching for a way to defend himself. Like he needed a reason not to tell his father. Something was going on, and he was damned if it didn't make Arthur all the more interesting for it. 'But it hardly seems fair,' Arthur settled on, 'They look so human, it just feels wrong to ambush them like this.'

'Well, lets hope your admirer holds the same morals as you do sire.'

They moved off, the old man leaving the festivities the next morning.

The eleventh day of the prince's visit saw him skating again, the girl and man with him while knights hovered like a net around them. Merlin was in his hiding spot again, tired of being cooped up underwater with nothing else to do than listen to the others complain.

He considered taking a nap, the snow nice and cool against his cheek when he felt it. Like a tingling through his body. The last time he felt this... there, Merlin could smell him already. Perking up from his spot he found the small dark head easily in the bushes. His cloak was up, but the colour was too bright against the dead twigs and barren oaks. He stood out, and would do for a good few metres.

Merlin wasn't the only on to spot Mordred. One shout went up from the knights. Then another, until a whole chorus was chasing the errant girl who'd broken off from Arthur. She was racing across the ice, an urgency there that hadn't been there before. Arthur wasn't far from her, managing to get her by the wrist and tug her, the two of them slipping and falling, to a stop.

 _'Nightfall,'_ Merlin sent towards Mordred, the message having him racing off through the trees and out of sight before anyone else could find him.

'Morgana leave him before you both end up dead,' Merlin heard Arthur hiss.

'But-'

'Father's watching.'

They made a big spectacle of helping each other up, Morgana playing off her run as being startled by a fish under the ice. 'I thought it was a monster,' she laughed to the king, the three of them returning to the shore in light spirits.

Mordred, sure enough, came back when it was dark. Merlin saw him creeping around the edge, stopping and finding Merlin almost as soon as he surfaced. He looked in good health, no new bruises or cuts on the skin that was visible. Merlin couldn't feel any illness on him either.

To not be seen Merlin dragged the boy into the reeds, settling him on a patch of ice.

'I haven't seen Emrys if that's why you're here.' He'd searched for someone with that name in the lake ever since the boy had left, coming up with no answers no matter who he asked. The boy didn't seem that perturbed, shrugging his shoulders like it couldn't be helped before making himself more comfortable on the ice. 'You're not here to cause trouble again are you? I doubt even you could escape the knights this time.'

Mordred still said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He didn't seem to have any visible reason to be at the lake, and since he wasn't talking Merlin decided to prattle on and hope Mordred would grow tired and tell him eventually.

He went through everything he could think of. His latest kills, his mother, the girls complaining about being stuck underwater, and Mordred didn't even begin to look bored. He seemed rather fascinated with it actually, which put Merlin a bit out since he was trying to come up with more to say.

Finally, just as Merlin was commenting about how to hunt through birds, Mordred spoke up: _'Are you hungry?'_

Merlin shrugged, 'I guess. I'm usually always hungry in winter. Food's hard to come by, and since his royal pratness decided to show up my mother's put everyone on a hunger strike.'

A grin edged onto Mordred's face, _'I didn't think they would be here.'_

'Neither did I. Well, Arthur, sure, but he's always down here. The others on the other hand, whatever Yule is I hope it's over soon.'

 _'Arthur?'_ The boy looked through the reeds, finding Arthur much faster than a normal human should in this light. _'He comes down here a lot? Does he know about you?'_

Merlin thought he could detect some concern in there. How cute that this small human was worried about him. 'He's seen me, but don't worry, I can handle myself pretty well.' He flashed his teeth, his real teeth that ripped skin and muscle apart like they were nothing, and was surprised when nothing more than a blink passed over Mordred's face. This kid had nerves of steel he'd give him that.

 _'He knows about you, yet does nothing?'_ Mordred pressed, sounding like he was two minutes away from jumping up and confronting Arthur himself.

'Is he meant to do something?' For some reason he got the sense Mordred didn't mean 'something' as killing. It was almost like there was another purpose for Arthur coming to the lake.

Yet, Mordred deflated where he sat, sending a considering sweep over Merlin before shrugging again. _'I suppose not.'_

'You humans and your secrets,' Merlin wondered. 'Some day I'm going to be able to read through them.'

With nothing more coming from Mordred Merlin started on his prattle again, not really knowing what he was going to do if every interaction with Mordred was going to end in a one sided conversation. Unlike last time, however, Mordred didn't keep him talking for long. As soon as he had decided something in his head, he was up and off like an arrow across the lake.

Merlin tried to call him back, especially when the knights caught sight of the boy. He had half a mind to follow him through the ice and drag him back to shore. He could do it, his magic would let him. But Mordred was already on his way back, running towards the reeds and diving down into the water before Merlin could stop him.

 _'Quick,'_ he heard, Mordred scrambling at the bank just as another body careened through the reeds. _'Before more come.'_

Realising what Mordred had done for him he broke the ice to get the knight and had him eaten as the others started giving off warnings.

'The boy's probably dead,' he heard from the brigade.

'Sir Pelinore?'

'It looks like he fell through the ice.'

'He'll be dead too by now. No one can survive that cold.'

Except a small boy with magic in his veins. When Merlin finally checked on Mordred he found him sitting primly, dry as a bone, on a scarce stretch of ice. He looked quite satisfied with himself, the look fading as Merlin's murderous notions played out on his face.

'You could have gotten hurt,' Merlin bit out, trying to be gentle. The boy thought he was doing good, he couldn't really berate him for that.

_'I knew you wouldn't let me. Are you less hungry now?'_

Merlin sighed, gearing himself up for a rant as he explained that his kind didn't really need to eat all that often. Yes, Merlin was hungry, but he'd went for months being hungry with no food and been fine. Mordred didn't need to lure people for him, as nice as it was.

Suitably chastised, Mordred didn't linger too long afterwards. Merlin made sure, before he went, that he knew he wasn't mad at Mordred, just concerned, and invited him around again when it was spring.

'So you don't freeze,' Merlin said when Mordred asked why not sooner. 'You humans are fragile, I need to look out for you. Not to mention spring means sun which means no ice and long lazy days on grassy banks.'

The king left a few hours after Mordred, too spooked about his lost knight to stay any longer.

The weeks passed all too quickly after that. The ice thinned as the air grew warmer, and Arthur started coming more frequently again. When Spring had officially declared itself as here, Merlin also saw Mordred again, the boy more at ease now the king and his knights were gone.

It was one day, the first hot one of the year, where Merlin could finally seat himself comfortably on the banks again. The grass was dry after so long being wet, and the leaves had started growing on the trees and bushes, creating a nice little niche of shade, or cover, depending on who it was.

Merlin was on his front, once again posing for Arthur's little book of findings, when he was jumped on by someone he definitely didn't expect. Mordred laughed with all the guile of a child, whooping out loud, for once, that he'd managed to sneak up on Merlin.

 _'I thought your kind were more aware than that,'_ Mordred preened.

'We are,' Merlin said, casting a quick glance to the bushes. Mordred's arrival had spooked more than him, Arthur looking horrified at the image of Merlin and the boy. No doubt he thought Merlin was going to eat him. 'I was distracted.' He pushed Mordred off, making a spectacle of showing that he meant the boy no harm. It did its job, Arthur relaxing for some reason or another back into his hiding spot. 'What are you doing here?'

_'You said I could come anytime I liked.'_

'I did,' Merlin agreed. It turned out that was just one in a long series of visits Merlin would get.

Mordred, for some reason or another, was fascinated with the lake. He wasn't like Arthur who sat there and scowled as he looked for weaknesses. He seemed to be happy in accepting everything that Merlin was. In fact, more than once, Merlin found Mordred leading people from villages to the lake, effectively feeding Merlin.

Before he knew it the months had passed and it was winter again, Merlin actually relying on Mordred to bring him people when the snow got too thick for people to venture down to the lake this year. How the boy did it Merlin didn't know, nor care when his stomach was full and he had someone else to talk to.

Throughout it all Arthur kept to the bushes, never once warding Mordred away or even trying to follow him when he left. Merlin thought he was almost uncaring about what happened to the boy, had he not seen the way Arthur would perk up whenever he saw Mordred himself.

Around Spring Merlin asked what happened to the man Mordred had originally been travelling with. It had been on his mind a while. Especially when Mordred told him about druid culture. From the sounds of it, his first guardian wasn't anything like the rebels Mordred had teamed up with. What could have happened between the first and third passing had Merlin reeling. He'd never thought about land before, not in the sense that they had adventures and fun like Merlin did. To him, land was small, the water was large. But Mordred told him more exciting things about land than Merlin thought possible.

_'... and now we're being hunted. There's a few tribes left but not many. I managed to find one by the way.'_

Which Merlin was happy about. Mordred had been talking about leaving the rebels for at least a year now. He had tried to get Merlin to let him stay at the lakeside, but Merlin wouldn't let him. Not only was it dangerous but Mordred belonged with his own kind, no matter how much Merlin might have grown fond of him over the months.

'One of the elders said he was going to help me with my magic. Maybe I could teach you some spells as well,' Mordred said, out loud for once. It had been happening more and more lately, Mordred speaking every so often, and each time Merlin found himself grinning despite the topic. It was pleasing, for some reason, to know Mordred was growing more comfortable with him.

'That sounds great.' Another thing he didn't know. He'd just thought magic was something you thought and it happened, but Mordred said there were spells. Spells that could do more than stop time and move stuff around, even if Mordred said those things on their own were amazing feats of magic.

The lessons kept them busy for hours. By the time summer came Merlin could create fire, move water and heal wounds- well, small wounds- which was a great improvement to what he could do before.

Mordred was showing him a new spell he'd learnt, discarding his cloak and clothes to tread water. Merlin gave in and helped him sit still in the water, telling Mordred to stop squirming when the pair of them didn't like the dragging of flesh on scales. The spell was to make warm bubbles, something that would come in handy in the winter.

'It heats up the water,' Mordred explained, Merlin feeling the change in temperature when he passed his hand over the bubbles.

Merlin tried it out when he scented something in the air. A twig broke, the bushes rustled, and as Merlin watched the girl Arthur used to come down with, although not in recent months, passed around the side of the lake.

Mordred was scrambling for the side, getting his cloak and running off into the bushes after her like a bolt of lightning. Merlin didn't know what to think, only wonder if Mordred would tell him more about what happened in Camelot when he came back.


End file.
